TDHS has record 19 AP Scholars

“To even have AP Scholars you have to have a rigorous program,” she added. “You have to have multiple classes for them to take.”

In a further distinction, six current seniors have already earned AP Scholar status as juniors. Their numbers will be added to the final tally when the class of 2020 graduates.

Those six AP Scholars are Evan Despain, Noah Holloran, Jonathan Snodgrass, Shannon Silaphath, Lorraine Codding, and Sofia Blair.

“AP Scholars as juniors are always special,” Commerford said. “That’s a significant marker. And we even have one AP Scholar with distinction as a junior, which I’ve never seen before.”

AP tests have scores from 1-5, with 5 being the best, and a 3 being a passing grade. An AP Scholar with distinction, the highest achievement level for an AP Scholar, is a student who has taken five AP exams with an average score of 3.5 or higher in each exam.

That student, Lorraine Codding, said in emailed comments gathered by Commerford that the things she loves about AP is “the classroom environment, because everyone wants to be there. No one HAS to take AP classes, so those that do are invested in their learning.”

She also liked the fast pace, having Commerford as her teacher, learning how to write three essays in two hours, and “being relieved after the AP tests, and having a chill end of the year.”

In AP courses, students have the opportunity to take an exam at the end of the year to earn college credit, Commerford said.

She said the school is doing well on its pass rates for the exam, and for the most part, is above the state average.

Even if students don’t pass the exam, just having taken the course gives them a leg up in college, having experienced the rigor of a college-level class, Commerford said.

The 19 graduated seniors who were named AP Scholars (either as seniors or juniors) are: Victoria Barragan, Leslie C. Blakely, Eleanor Codding, Matthew Feil, Michaela Haight, Nicholas Keilman, Megan Kirchhofer, Rianda Linebarger, Gabriel Lira, Sharon Mann, James Pashek, Devam Patel, Celia Peterson, Teddie Pitt, Jake Roetcisoender, Savannah Strassheim, and Molly Taylor.

Blair recommended taking AP classes “if you are a driven person and are looking to challenge yourself.” She said they help prepare students for post-high school education because “they build your writing skills and have a heavier workload, similar to what you will face in college.”

She added, “I absolutely love taking AP classes, because I get to work with other students who are wanting to challenge themselves and put in extra effort. When you first start taking AP classes, it can be discouraging to see low test scores (and trust me, everyone starts with low test scores), but when you figure out how to manage such a hard class, it is well worth the effort.”

Despain said AP courses have helped him become more prepared for college. “I know what to expect instead of just diving head first in the lion’s den. I won’t like, it can be very difficult to get to all the deadlines and do all of the assignments without help, but at least at The Dalles High School, most of the teachers understand.”

Holloran said, “The backbone of AP is reading, reading and more reading. Fortunately I learned quickly how to take good notes on the reading.” He said AP classes condense extensive knowledge into a single school year. “And yes, that means we have homework almost every night.”

He said he’s gotten a 4 on every AP exam he’s taken. “It really has improved my critical thinking skills and my ability to see things from multiple perspectives.”

Holloran is hoping to get his first 5 this school year on an AP exam, “something I will be working extra hard to achieve. And they’ll help you with anything you need. AP classes have given me more faith in my ability to handle harder classes and college level classes. AP classes, even though they’re hard, have been a true blessing in my life.”

Snodgrass said, “My first two scores on my essays were both zeroes. They showed me how much that I needed to improve. The AP program at our school has really pushed me to grow. My writing skills have advanced beyond what I thought possible in the past three years.”

He said the AP history program is very reading intensive. “Because of this, I quickly developed good note-taking skills that will help me in post-secondary education.”

Silaphath said AP courses are “alright. AP is a bit rough at first, mostly because no one knows what they’re doing, but after a year or two if you get the right formula you can get pretty high scores on essays. There was a tremendous amount of reading, which I’m fine with until I had to pair it with the creation of notes. It takes up a load of time but if you have a good memory you won’t really need them anyway and just being mildly aware of events or themes in a certain period of time also helps a lot with multiple choice. Naturally, add a lot of adjectives and descriptive wording to your writing to make it pop and do whatever feels right.”

He said his biggest tip is “to manage your time well, don’t bite off more than you can chew.”